The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett Women's Fertility & Lifestyle Debate: Dangers Of Not Having A Period! Fasting Can Backfire For Women
Oct 16, 2025
03:36:50
The 4 leading powerhouses in women’s health break down urgent topics facing women today: irregular periods, PCOS, endometriosis, perimenopause, and the best diet for hormonal balance.
Part 1 of this 2-part female health roundtable is focused on hormones and fertility, bringing together: Menopause specialist Dr Mary Claire Haver, longevity orthopaedic surgeon Dr Vonda Wright, fertility doctor Dr Natalie Crawford, and female physiology researcher Dr Stacy Sims.
In this powerful conversation, they explain:
◼️The shocking lack of research on women’s hormones, and how it’s harming health
◼️How insulin resistance fuels hormone imbalance, irregular cycles, and infertility
◼️How coffee, fasting, and overtraining can silently disrupt your hormones
◼️The truth about cycle syncing, and why your luteal phase changes everything
◼️How stress, sleep, and muscle mass directly influence perimenopause
◼️Why birth control is not a cure, and the lifestyle tools that actually help
(00:00) Intro
(05:30) Why Do We Need to Have This Conversation?
(10:51) Why the Female Body Is More Adapted for Endurance Exercise
(12:12) Why Women's Heart Attacks Are Considered 'Atypical'
(14:51) The Research Gap on Women's Health
(19:14) Why Women Downplay and Gaslight Themselves About Pain
(21:54) Why Don’t We Understand Hormones?
(26:26) What a Normal Period Should Be Like
(28:35) What Is Progesterone?
(33:45) The Underlying Cause of PCOS
(35:15) Developing Diabetes During Pregnancy
(39:36) What Causes PCOS and How to Reduce It
(47:47) The Pill Is Not the Only Help for PCOS
(52:48) How Do We Know If It's a Normal Flow, Too Much, or Too Little?
(57:42) How to Know If You're Experiencing Abnormal Period Pain
(01:00:43) Anemia in Women and the Issues With Lab Results
(01:03:58) People Suffer Silently With Endometriosis for Years
(01:09:17) The Real Reason There's No Treatment for Endometriosis
(01:12:27) Could We Create a Cellular Marker for Endometriosis?
(01:15:22) How to Ease Pain Symptoms Before Your Period Naturally
(01:20:49) If You're 15 to 25, You Need to Know This
(01:22:10) How to Treat Your Body in Each Decade After You Start Your Period
(01:35:14) Advice to Your Daughters
(01:37:41) Should You Use The Coil?
(01:43:32) The Best Contraceptive Method
(02:02:33) The 5 Fertility Non-Negotiables
(02:04:22) Should I Freeze My Eggs?
(02:15:55) IVF Has Helped 13 Million People
(02:24:44) PCOS and Infertility
(02:28:47) Why Is Pregnancy Loss Still a Taboo?
(02:36:59) Should You Take Time Off During Your Period?
(02:41:18) People Need to Know When Perimenopause Starts
(02:42:24) Menopause
(02:49:12) Check Your Mum's Menopause Age to Know Yours
(02:57:31) The Dangers of the Year Before Menopause
(02:59:04) Suicide Rates in Women
(03:04:39) What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy Really For?
(03:13:33) Should You Treat Menopause Symptoms?
(03:25:00) How to Improve Your Sex Life and Lubrication
You can follow the guests, here:
Dr Mary:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/4ogsgwJ
◼️The Pause Life - https://bit.ly/48rycyv
◼️You can purchase ‘The New Menopause’, here: https://amzn.to/4nUOnt5
Dr Vonda:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/46SMfvR
◼️Website - https://bit.ly/4n41GGg
◼️You can purchase ‘Unbreakable’, here: https://amzn.to/4n6xVEO
Dr Natalie:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/4nbZFI9
◼️YouTube - https://bit.ly/3J5fLFw
◼️Website - https://bit.ly/3W6E0pG
◼️You can pre-order ‘The Fertility Formula’, here: https://amzn.to/3KRpobk
Dr Stacy:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/4hcRuKm
◼️Website - https://bit.ly/47dqkhS
◼️You can purchase ‘ROAR, Revised Edition’, here: https://amzn.to/4nbjDmr
Sponsors:
Pipedrive - http://pipedrive.com/CEO
Plaud - https://www.plaud.ai/pages/steven use DOAC22 for 22% off Note and NotePin or https://amzn.to/47ahktN with code DOAC2222 - only available from October 16th to October 23rd.
Vivobarefoot - https://vivobarefoot.com/DOAC with code STEVENB20 for 20% off.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theexperienceplus.substack.com
Part 1 of this 2-part female health roundtable is focused on hormones and fertility, bringing together: Menopause specialist Dr Mary Claire Haver, longevity orthopaedic surgeon Dr Vonda Wright, fertility doctor Dr Natalie Crawford, and female physiology researcher Dr Stacy Sims.
In this powerful conversation, they explain:
◼️The shocking lack of research on women’s hormones, and how it’s harming health
◼️How insulin resistance fuels hormone imbalance, irregular cycles, and infertility
◼️How coffee, fasting, and overtraining can silently disrupt your hormones
◼️The truth about cycle syncing, and why your luteal phase changes everything
◼️How stress, sleep, and muscle mass directly influence perimenopause
◼️Why birth control is not a cure, and the lifestyle tools that actually help
(00:00) Intro
(05:30) Why Do We Need to Have This Conversation?
(10:51) Why the Female Body Is More Adapted for Endurance Exercise
(12:12) Why Women's Heart Attacks Are Considered 'Atypical'
(14:51) The Research Gap on Women's Health
(19:14) Why Women Downplay and Gaslight Themselves About Pain
(21:54) Why Don’t We Understand Hormones?
(26:26) What a Normal Period Should Be Like
(28:35) What Is Progesterone?
(33:45) The Underlying Cause of PCOS
(35:15) Developing Diabetes During Pregnancy
(39:36) What Causes PCOS and How to Reduce It
(47:47) The Pill Is Not the Only Help for PCOS
(52:48) How Do We Know If It's a Normal Flow, Too Much, or Too Little?
(57:42) How to Know If You're Experiencing Abnormal Period Pain
(01:00:43) Anemia in Women and the Issues With Lab Results
(01:03:58) People Suffer Silently With Endometriosis for Years
(01:09:17) The Real Reason There's No Treatment for Endometriosis
(01:12:27) Could We Create a Cellular Marker for Endometriosis?
(01:15:22) How to Ease Pain Symptoms Before Your Period Naturally
(01:20:49) If You're 15 to 25, You Need to Know This
(01:22:10) How to Treat Your Body in Each Decade After You Start Your Period
(01:35:14) Advice to Your Daughters
(01:37:41) Should You Use The Coil?
(01:43:32) The Best Contraceptive Method
(02:02:33) The 5 Fertility Non-Negotiables
(02:04:22) Should I Freeze My Eggs?
(02:15:55) IVF Has Helped 13 Million People
(02:24:44) PCOS and Infertility
(02:28:47) Why Is Pregnancy Loss Still a Taboo?
(02:36:59) Should You Take Time Off During Your Period?
(02:41:18) People Need to Know When Perimenopause Starts
(02:42:24) Menopause
(02:49:12) Check Your Mum's Menopause Age to Know Yours
(02:57:31) The Dangers of the Year Before Menopause
(02:59:04) Suicide Rates in Women
(03:04:39) What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy Really For?
(03:13:33) Should You Treat Menopause Symptoms?
(03:25:00) How to Improve Your Sex Life and Lubrication
You can follow the guests, here:
Dr Mary:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/4ogsgwJ
◼️The Pause Life - https://bit.ly/48rycyv
◼️You can purchase ‘The New Menopause’, here: https://amzn.to/4nUOnt5
Dr Vonda:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/46SMfvR
◼️Website - https://bit.ly/4n41GGg
◼️You can purchase ‘Unbreakable’, here: https://amzn.to/4n6xVEO
Dr Natalie:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/4nbZFI9
◼️YouTube - https://bit.ly/3J5fLFw
◼️Website - https://bit.ly/3W6E0pG
◼️You can pre-order ‘The Fertility Formula’, here: https://amzn.to/3KRpobk
Dr Stacy:
◼️Instagram - https://bit.ly/4hcRuKm
◼️Website - https://bit.ly/47dqkhS
◼️You can purchase ‘ROAR, Revised Edition’, here: https://amzn.to/4nbjDmr
Sponsors:
Pipedrive - http://pipedrive.com/CEO
Plaud - https://www.plaud.ai/pages/steven use DOAC22 for 22% off Note and NotePin or https://amzn.to/47ahktN with code DOAC2222 - only available from October 16th to October 23rd.
Vivobarefoot - https://vivobarefoot.com/DOAC with code STEVENB20 for 20% off.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theexperienceplus.substack.com